TRAIN passengers travelling with First Great Western (FGW) face an above inflation fares increase next month.

TRAIN passengers travelling with First Great Western (FGW) face an above inflation fares increase next month.

Off-peak tickets will be going up by as much as four per cent from Sunday, June 2, but fares between Reading and London Paddington will stay the same. Great Western bosses argue the company has already invested heavily in improvements but a passenger watchdog says the extra cash should also be ploughed into services and not to simply boost profits.

The Apex and First Apex tickets will remain at May 2000 prices but others, including SuperAdvance, SuperSaver, Advance and Saver will increase. Standard Open fares will increase by 3.5 per cent and First Open by five per cent.

Elaine Holt, FGW's director and general manager, said: "We have invested heavily in all areas

to benefit our customers including our new Adelante fleet of trains, refurbishment of our existing trains, more staff, improved

customer service and communication.

"We are committed to further investment particularly in the areas of customer service, both on train and at stations, customer

communication and safety."

But John Caff, of the Rail Passenger's Committee for Western England, said customers are still not receiving a reliable service.

He said: "Nobody likes fare increases, particularly if they are above the rate of inflation.

"There has in fact been a freeze in the last couple of years on most fares by First Great Western so some increase was to be expected."

However, Mr Caff said: "As far as we are concerned, although the performance in terms of punctuality and reliability is improving it's not back to pre-Hatfield levels.

"Therefore any increase in fares must go into new and demonstrable improvements in the service.

"If passengers are paying more, they need to see an improvement in the service."

Ms Holt said: "We appreciate that some of our customers will be disappointed at our decision,

however we remain comparable with other similar train companies and we continue to offer very good value for money."

n FIRST Great Western's current managing director Mike Carroll is retiring from his post but is

staying with the company to work on re-franchising plans for the FGW contract.

Chris Kinchin-Smith, an executive director at the Strategic Rail Authority, is to become